NEW DELHI: After BJP president J P Nadda posed several questions to him on the issues of farmers and national security, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said he was not answerable to him and asserted that it was not Nadda but he who has stood up for farmers.
"Is J P Nadda my professor that I am answerable to him. Who is he? Is he a professor or teacher of India? Why should I answer him? "I answer the country, I answer the farmers who can ask me anything," Gandhi said at a press conference when asked about Nadda's tweets criticizing him and posing several questions to him.
Hitting back at the BJP chief for his tweets earlier in the day, the Congress leader claimed it was an "attempted distraction".
The farmers know that it was Rahul Gandhi who stood up for them in Bhatta Parsaul and over the land acquisition issue, not BJP leader Nadda, he said.
Earlier in the day, Nadda lashed out at Gandhi for his barb on the Modi government over national security and also targeted the Congress leader over a host of issues, including agriculture and COVID-19.
"When will Rahul Gandhi, his dynasty and Congress stop lying on China. Can he deny that thousands of kms, including the one in Arunachal Pradesh he is referring to was gifted by none other than Pandit Nehru to the Chinese? Time and again, why does Congress surrender to China?" Nadda tweeted.
The BJP chief also accused Gandhi of "provoking and misleading" farmers and asked why did the Congress-led UPA government "stall" the Swaminathan Commission report for years and did not increase the minimum support price (MSP).
Nadda said now that Gandhi has returned from his "monthly vacation", he would like to ask him some questions and posted several posers for the former Congress chief.